The Horrors Of Grimalkin Square
by Opie Lives
Summary: A series of terrible murders are laid at the feet of Auror Harry Potter. The victims are left in the open with no clues and no crime scene to point Harry to the killer. Can the killer be stopped before those closest to Harry are targeted.


Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter and am in no way profiting from this story.

Disclaimer Part Two: Well this is probably less a disclaimer and more an apology for bringing this story to life. Also I should throw a warning out there that, while I don't think this story will cause any permanent damage, your brain could shut down from reading this mess. At the very least it will probably stop speaking to you for a short period.

 **THE HORRORS OF GRIMALKIN SQUARE**

"See you tomorrow, Sandi;" the pretty strawberry blond witch said as she left the same cafe she had visited for lunch every day of her working life. She clutched the brown bag containing her usual tuna, plain, on toast and a side salad as she fumbled for her wand. It was always a pain to find a safe place to apparate in this section of muggle London, but she was unwilling to break up her routine. Of course using the same spot behind the cafe as an apparition point was also a part of her routine; so all in all, she was happily safe within her ordered little world.

She checked to see if anyone was around and froze as a barely visible greenish-yellow light hit her.

"Come here Jill," an oddly familiar voice told the blond and she happily walked towards the voice. "Now take my hand," the voice said as a hand appeared out of nowhere. Jill gladly took the hand and barely felt the pull of apparation through the euphoric haze she was in.

"I'm sorry for using the imperius curse on you Jill," the still familiar voice said as they appeared in dark room that was over flowing with books and potions equipment. "I just didn't think you would willingly have come along otherwise."

A cloak was pulled off and laid across a chair back and with it a person appeared. The person walked over to a cauldron that was letting off a noxious purple smoke and filled a phial from it.

"I apologize for this as well," the person said, returning to Jill. "I'm afraid this potion is very painful, and unfortunately it seems to throw off the effects of the imperius, so this will a rather horrible experience for you. But the effects are temporary and if everything works out, you'll wake up in your own bed tomorrow morning.

"Take this," the person said and Jill reached out and took the phial. "Now drink."

Jill obediently drank the potion as the person walked over to a door and opened it. She heard growling as the pain set in and she dropped the phial. The growls grew closer as her bones started shrinking and realigning. She screamed as the growling turned into a terrible deep hiss.

–-

"Got another one for you Harry," the large man wearing a flannel shirt and a bowler hat said as Lead Auror Harry Potter walked over to him.

"Third one in three weeks," Harry said quietly, more to himself than to the large man.

"Right you are," David Hurley answered the non question anyway. "Same as the others, slashed to pieces; like she was run over by one of those muggle lawn movers."

Harry didn't bother to correct the big Auror, he instead looked down at the bloody mess someone had left on a bench. His green eyes narrowed behind his glasses at the carnage.

"Her name is Jill Blanchard," David volunteered. He had worked with Harry long enough to not need prompts. "Twenty-seven, worked as a transcriber for the Department of Mysteries, disappeared during her lunch break two days ago."

"Do we know where she had lunch?" Harry asked as he turned from the body.

"Same place every day for six years." David answered as he, without realizing, checked the famous lightning bolt scar that had faded to the point you actually had to look to see it. "Susie and Justin are there now."

"Good," Harry said; nodding his head. "Same as the other two I assume. Killed elsewhere and dumped here in Grimalkin Square. Check the other two, see if they have any connection to the Department of Mysteries. Then check for any type of connection between the three. I'll take the body in and get the autopsy started."

"I'm on it Harry," David told him. "I remember her from the Ministry. Good looking girl."

"Just like the other two; pretty, young and disappeared in broad daylight during their lunch break." Harry shook his head as he waved his wand and levitated the body into a body bag. "I hope there's more of a connection than that to draw the killer, otherwise this is going to get a lot worse."

"I'm glad you guys could make it," Ron Weasley said as he waved the four through the door.

He hugged his sister before shaking hands with the other three. "It's been too long."

"Maybe you should stay home more, then you could see us more often," Ginny Potter teased as she handed her jacket to Harry who hung both of their jackets up.

"Talk to your brother," Ron told her as he motioned everyone into the cozy sitting room. "George has to stay close to Angelina and I get to handle all the franchises he opened up."

"When are you and Hermione going to follow their example and make me an aunt?" Ginny asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Don't even joke about that!" Ron said with a look of horror. "As busy as she is; she'd have kittens if she found herself up the duff. I think you and Harry can make me an uncle and I'll keep traveling until Hermione slows down."

"Where's the latest one?" Neville Longbottom asked as he and his fiance sat in the loveseat across from the others. Harry had taken the leather reading chair and Ginny propped herself on the arm of the same chair while Ron had taken the couch.

"Dublin," Ron said as he watched Harry play with Ginny's hair; something he always did when he was troubled. "In fact, I have to head back Monday for another couple of weeks. I should never have let Hermione tutor me in potions. Now I have to set up the labs in the stores."

"It must be hard being away like that," Hannah Abbot said quietly. She still felt like an outsider with the group, even though she had been with Neville for two years now.

"It keeps us from killing each other," Hermione Granger said as she walked into the room.

"Hermione!" Ginny happily ran over and hugged her friend. "Another person who's too busy for her family. Or is that George's fault too?"

"Now Gin," Harry said as he hugged Hermione, "you know how she is. She's probably using a time turner so she can do thirty different things a day. Of course she could use it to make time for us."

"Sorry guys," Hermione blushed, "but I've been busy with the Department of Magical Creatures and working on my mastery in potions."

Hermione laughed when Ginny plopped down in her reading chair and Crookshanks jumped onto her lap, purring loudly as Ginny petted him. The others started laughing when Harry tried to sit on the chair and Crookshanks hissed at him and swiped at him with a paw. Harry laughed along with the rest as he sat on the couch with Ron and Hermione and Crookshanks happily settled onto Ginny's lap.

"I think you're being replaced Harry," Hermione teased as she worriedly looked from Ginny to Harry. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Harry said looking down.

"Pull the other one, Harry… Bells and all that stuff." Ron said, glad that his wife was the tactless one this time.

"You've been brooding since you got home," Ginny added.

"What is this," Harry asked, "gang up on Harry day?"

"Well, now that you guys mention it..."

"You too, Neville?"

"Even I noticed,"

"And you guys are being a bad influence on poor Hannah." Harry said, fighting a losing battle to change the subject.

"You're going to tell us," Hermione told him, "so there's no need to try dragging this out."

"I'm twenty-four, not twelve; do you really think that bossy tone is going to work on me?"

"Yes!" Hermione, Ron and Ginny all answered at once.

"Fine," Harry said with a fake pout.

"There's been another murder," Harry continued quietly after a moment's silence.

"She worked at the Department of Mysteries," He said when no one interrupted. "Jill Blanchard..."

"Jill!" Hermione exclaimed. "We just had lunch together not long ago."

"I remember her from that last Ministry party," Ron added. "Remember Nev, she was flirting with us to make her boyfriend jealous. I can't remember his name, that Slytherin from Ginny's year."

"Chadwicke," Ginny said. "Don't know what his first name is."

"Garrison," Hermione said. "But they broke up not long after the party."

"You didn't notice anyone following her at lunch, Hermione?" Harry said looking at her intensely.

"No," Hermione said looking down. Talking to Harry Potter, Auror was a lot more intimidating than talking to her friend Harry. "I do remember feeling like something was off that day. I just don't know how."

"It's okay, just let me know if you think of something." Harry said softly before standing up. "I'm heading into the office to see if this Chadwicke has been interviewed. Sorry to cut this short."

Harry leaned down to kiss Ginny but Crookshanks hisses turned into a vicious whine and he backed off.

"I think you're right about me being replaced, Hermione."

"Another one, Harry?" David Hurley asked as he joined the young Auror.

"Looks like it," Harry said as he watched Susan Bones levitate the body into a body bag. "Barely more than a damned week since the last one. "Lisa King, muggleborn, worked at Gringotts."

"Disappeared while at lunch?" David asked and Harry nodded his reply.

"We found this on her," Harry said holding up a phial with a little grayish potion settled on the bottom. "I took a small sample, you can take this to the lab. Maybe we can get results before next summer."

"Doubtful," David said. The Ministry labs were notoriously slow. "What are you going to do with the rest?"

"Give it to Hermione. She'll have it figured out in no time. After I stop at the Chadwicke Estate and see if he's returned from abroad."

"I wish we had something on him to officially question him for. He wouldn't be able to avoid us and it would knock some of his parents smugness off." Harry could only nod his head in agreement as he walked off to apparate out of Grimalkin Square.

"Come on through," Ginny Potter said as she stepped away from the fireplace. A moment later, it's fire flared up and Hermione Granger stepped out. She looked around nervously at the comfy home Harry and Ginny had built.

"What's bothering you?" Ginny asked as she hugged her friend.

"These killings, I just don't feel safe with Ron away. So I thought I'd see if you'd like to have lunch."

"I was just heating up some of Mum's chicken soup. Make yourself at home and I'll see if it's ready."

"Thanks Ginny, you're the best."

"I know," Ginny said smiling at her friend. Hermione sadly watched her red headed friend leave the room and drew her wand. She was raising it when the front door opened.

Harry Potter stepped into his home and came to a sudden stop as he saw his best friend in his living room.

"Just the witch I was looking for," he said as Hermione cast a cleaning charm on her robe. "You must of just flued here right before I went to your office."

"Shouldn't I be the witch you're looking for?" Ginny said as she kissed his cheek.

"Always Luv, but this time I was looking for a future potions mistress."

Potions? Ick. I agree, that's all Hermione. Soup is just about ready so when you two are ready."

"Thanks Gin."

"Thanks Ginny."

"You're domesticating her." Hermione teased.

"Don't let her hear you say that."

"Wimp. So, what do you need with my potion ability?"

Harry handed her a small phial with the gray potion in it. She took it and stared with her I have a mystery to solve stare.

"I need to know what this is. Quick."

"Another murder?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Uh-huh. But you can leave it until after lunch. Unless you want to keep Ginny waiting?"

Neville Longbottom whistled as he walked through Diagon Alley. He couldn't wait to tell Hannah that he would be Hogwart's new herbology professor next term. The interview had gone well, even though he was still intimidated by Professor McGonagall, and he was in the mood to celebrate. He had stopped at Gringotts for some money and then stopped and bought flowers, now he was going to the Leaky Cauldron and Hoping his Fiance was done for the day.

"Hey Tom," Neville greeted the toothless barman.

"Hey yourself, Neville." Tom smiled at him. "Hannah just finished her shift and is upstairs in her apartment. Head on up."

"Thanks," Neville said cheerfully with a wave. He headed up the stairs, nearly bouncing with excitement. Halfway up he brought to a halt by a loud scream.

"Hannah!" He shouted and charged up the stairs. He banged on the door and heard Hannah scream again. Neville stepped back and drew his wand "Reducto!"

The door shattered as the spell hit it and Neville charged inside, his wand leading the way. He looked right and left before venturing into the room.

"Hannah!" He cried when he saw her; standing, just looking at him before disappearing.

"Neville!" A voice called from behind him and he spun around, wand at the ready.

"Harry?" Neville questioned when he saw Harry Potter, Tom the barman and a Big Auror at the door.

"Tom heard screaming and called us," Harry explained. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Neville said helplessly while looking at the spot Hannah disappeared from.

"Ginny! Help!" Ginny Potter heard along with a vicious pounding at the front door. She ran to the door and threw it open, barely catching the crying Hannah Abbot that fell through the door way.

"Hannah? What happened?"

"He attacked me!" Hannah sobbed as Ginny led her to the couch.

"Who?" Ginny asked as she summoned the tea set.

"The killer, at least I think it was."

"You saw him?" Ginny asked as she turned back to Hannah in shock, the tea set held out.

Hannah didn't answer, she just sat there with her wand aimed at Ginny. Then quietly she said one word.

"Stupefy."

–-

"Ginny!" Harry yelled as he charged through his front door. He had been investigating Hannah's apartment when a charm on his house notified him that a hostile spell had been used. He'd immediately rushed out of the Leaky Cauldron and apparated home. Harry tore through the house but could find no trace of Ginny.

He returned to the sitting room, where Ginny's tea set lay smashed on the floor.

"Revelio Magiki," Harry said with a wave of his wand. Colors started appearing in front of him and he focused on the brightest. "Summoning charm, a stupefy and then a port key." Harry said to himself as his worry grew.

"Think Potter," he coldly said to himself. The crime scenes flashed through his head, from the first pitiful victim to Hannah's apartment to this very room.

In frustration, he remembered what he had found at Hannah's before he left and pulled the small vial from his pocket; staring intently at the ginger hair inside.

–-

Ginny came to, and found herself unable to move. Looking around, she saw that she was sitting in a dark potions room. Books were piled to the ceiling, so many that you could barely make out the bookshelves that had been over run. Three different cauldrons were going, one giving off a noxious purple smoke. In front of her, Hannah Abbot stood motionless; a blank expression on her face.

Ginny struggled to get to her but the chair she was in and the ropes holding her were much too sturdy.

"Good, you're awake." A familiar voice said and Ginny was completely caught off guard. "Surprised? I'm not sure you should be. I've done everything I could to protect you. Hopefully, this will work and I can spare you the next step."

"Hannah, drink the potion." The voice said calmly.

Ginny could only watch in horror as Hannah drank down the gray potion. Hannah screamed as her body began to contort. Bones breaking and reforming, shrinking and reshaping.

Harry apparated straight into Ron and Hermione's home. "Ron! Hermione!" He called but wasn't surprised at the lack of an answer. A quick revealing spell told him what he already knew; that no one else was home.

Harry walked into the kitchen and found exactly what he was looking for. On the wall was a clock exactly like the one in the Weasely kitchen, this one with two hands; one showing Ron which was currently resting on AWAY and the other was of course Hermione and was resting on WORK. He turned around and headed for their floo.

Ginny Weasely had never been so sick in her life. Her clothes, the ropes around her and the floor were covered in vomit; and she felt more rising up as she looked at the bloody remains of the blond kneazle that had been Hannah Abbott. Watching her change had been horrible enough; but the way Crookshanks had attacked her…

Ginny vomited again, what little she had left and it quickly turned into dry heaving.

"That's pretty impressive," Hermione Granger said as she stroked a loudly purring Crookshanks. She waved her wand and cleaned Ginny and the surrounding area. "How someone so tiny can produce that much and still keep going."

"Merlin, Hermione!" Ginny tried to scream, but it came out more of a hoarse croak. "How can you be so calm after doing that to Hannah?"

"You get used to it. I was sick after the first one. Not as spectacularly as you though."

"But why?" Ginny asked, tears freely falling as she stared at Hannah's remains.

"I was hoping she would do. Crookshanks seemed to like her. I really wanted to spare you this. I even made sure the girls were similar to you. But he's always so picky.

"He's lonely, the poor dear." Hermione continued as she put Crookshanks down. He immediately went to Ginny and started rubbing against her legs. "See, he approves of you."

"You've killed five people because Crookshanks needed a friend?" Ginny asked in shock and rising terror.

"More like a girl friend. Kneazles get an overwhelming urge to mate after so many years. I tried finding other kneazles and even regular cats; but like I said, he's so picky. And you see what happens when he doesn't approve. So, I couldn't do that to any more defenseless animals and created this potion instead."

Hermione held a phial of gray potion up to Ginny, who eyed it with fear.

"Killing those girls was better than using animals?" Ginny asked, hoping to delay Hermione long enough to find a way to escape.

"Of course, people have free will, but those poor kneazles and cats just do what they're told. Ok, I admit the whole free will thing can be argued since I've had to use the imperius curse on each of them, but they were free to not be where I could get to them."

"Ron was right," Ginny muttered, "you have gotten sucked in by Labour."

"What was that?" Hermione asked frowning, but then continued into her explanation. "Crookshanks was still picky, unfortunately, and in the end all those girls were failures. Then Harry somehow got a hold of my potion and I knew I was running out of time. You know how he is when he finally gets that vital clue. So I grabbed Hannah and then made her take you. They should still be investigating her disappearance, poor Neville; I hate that he has to suffer so much. With luck they won't even realize you're gone until this is over."

"What makes you so sure my fate won't be the same as the others?"

"Because Crookshanks has bonded with you. Much the same way as he has me. Really either of us would work; but let's face it, I'm a future Minister of Magic while you're just a quiddich player. So I'm afraid the world has too much to lose if I make the sacrifice.

"This has been fun, Ginny," Hermione said raising her wand. "But I've let you stall me long enough."

"Put the wand down, Hermione." Harry Potter said forcefully from behind her.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned, unwilling to believe he was there even as she turned and aimed her wand at him. She almost surrendered after seeing his angry glare and the wand steadily pointed at her.

"Don't do this Hermione. Let me get you help."

"I have to, Harry. I need to help Crookshanks. You have to understand."

"I can't let you do this Hermione, please drop your wand," Harry pleaded with her.

"I have to." Hermione whispered and whipped around towards Ginny, even though she knew what was coming.

"Expelliarmus!"

Hermione felt the spell before it hit her and she was flung sideways even as her wand was wrenched from her. She crashed into the hot cauldron spewing a noxious purple smoke and upended it. She screamed as the contents covered her, burning away at her skin. Then she screamed louder.

Harry stopped untying Ginny and they both watched in silence as Hermione changed. Her screams turned into pathetic whines as she shrank and changed. Then the whines ceased and instead were meows.

The kneazle with a bushy mane stared at the people around her. She started to saunter forward when she was struck from behind as a much larger ginger haired Kneazle pounced on her.

"So, let me get this straight," Ron Weasely said from the table he shared with Harry at the Leaky Cauldron, "you saw a ginger hair and your mind automatically jumped to it belonging to Crookshanks. And then you knew exactly where Hermione was?"

"Not exactly," Harry said as Ron paused to tear into the large bowl of stew Tom had brought him. "I've been around Crookshanks for ten years, and cleaned up more than enough of his hair. So once I calmed down and actually looked at it..."

"It was pretty obvious it was Crookshanks." Ron finished for him between bites.

"Pretty much. Then I went to your place and the clock said she was at work. So I flued the ministry and found out she wasn't there. The next place I thought of was her potion lab we helped her set up just outside Grimalkin Square. Fortunately I was right and was able to save Ginny. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to save poor Hannah."

"How's Neville taking it?"

"Bad. I haven't seen him since the funeral, but word is he's been locked in his rooms for days now."

"It must be rough. Most of the people he knows were involved in this mess. I wouldn't want to see any one either."

"Uh-huh. And how are you holding up? Neville's not the only on who lost somebody."

"Truthfully," Ron said, putting his spoon down for the first time since the food arrived. "I don't know. We hadn't been close for a while now. Even before I started traveling, we hardly saw one another. Now I can't help but think none of this would have happened if I tried to make her take it easier. Maybe I would have noticed something was wrong, at the least."

"We both know you can't make her take it easy. She obsessed to much about everything. And never was one for being told she was wrong."

"True. How long will she be stuck in that form? Of course, I guess she's heading to Azkaban once she's human again so maybe it's better if they don't fix her."

"The doctors think it's permanent." Harry said looking down, trying not to make eye contact. "The potion she made was unstable and wasn't meant to be used in that amount. Besides, they have to leave her that way for a few months."

"What aren't you telling me, Harry?"

"Well, Hermione wasn't kidding about Crookshanks overwhelming need to mate."

"She's knocked up!" Ron all but shouted, and Harry was glad he had bothered with that silencing spell.

"Yes, Ron, she's..." Harry started to explain but Ron had burst into laughter and was currently trying to hold himself in his seat.

"Ron?"

"Ron?"

"RON!"

"What? Oh, sorry about that." Ron said trying to recover from his laughing fit. "It's just that..."

"Just what?" Harry asked as his friend started giggling.

"She's literally having kittens this time."

Harry just looked at his friend who had dissolved in laughter again. Then he realized how ridiculous this whole thing has been and started laughing as well.

"I always knew she loved that cat more than me."

"I think we all knew that. So what will you do now?"

"Don't know," Ron admitted while rubbing his chin. "I always liked Bill's earring and Hermione would never have let me get one. Maybe I'll start there. Be the cool uncle to George's kid when she gets here."

"You can be the cool uncle to my kid to."

"What?"

"Ginny and I wanted you to be the first to know..." Harry was cut short as an emotional Ron caught him in a bear hug.

"I guess we get a little bit of a happy ending then." Ron said as he regained control of himself.

"A little bit of one," Harry agreed.

Author's note: So I was relaxing one night, enjoying a showing of Murders In The Rue Morgue and somehow my mind began connecting Bela Lugosi and Hermione Granger. From there the story just took shape on it's own and spiraled into this sad mess that you forced yourself to read. Now that you're done with the story, you should give the movie a try. The hour you spend watching that should be enough time for brain to begin speaking to you again for making it suffer with this story.


End file.
